Abbas Boosts Boycott of Settlement Goods

Posted on May 22, 2010

A boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank gained some heft Saturday when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threw his executive weight behind the campaign, calling on all Palestinians to stop buying settlement-made products

This is no small potatoes: Palestinian officials estimate the value of settlement goods sold in the Palestinian market at something like $500 million. —JCL

Reuters:

President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday swung behind a campaign to stop Palestinians buying goods produced by Israeli settlements in the West Bank, urging all Palestinians to shun the products.

Abbas dismissed Israeli accusations that the campaign amounted to incitement of hatred against the Jewish state—something the United States has urged him to prevent as it mediates indirect peace talks between the sides.

The 75-year old Palestinian leader opened his door to volunteers distributing leaflets detailing products from furniture to wine and soft drinks which the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has banned from Palestinian markets.

“I call on all Palestinian citizens to do the same and to boycott these goods,” said Abbas, speaking in public for the first time about a campaign spearheaded by his prime minister, Salam Fayyad.